Inclusion Scotland

A coalition of 15 national charities and organisations coordinated by Age Scotland is calling on the Scottish Government to improve its plans for the new Pension Age Disability Payment by including extra mobility and travel support for recipients.

The Adult Disability Payment has opened for new applications across Scotland. The national rollout follows successful pilots in 13 local authority areas, which began in March.

A new Centre of Expertise in Equality and Human Rights is being established by the Scottish Government to put human rights and equality at the heart of economic policy development. The Centre, an action from Scotland’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation, will see the government work

Disabled people with the most serious lifelong health conditions will have more financial security under Scotland’s social security system, social security minister Ben Macpherson said this week as a new benefit is set to end fixed-term reviews for people with lifelong conditions. The Adult Di

A fundamental review of disability assistance must be initiated by the Scottish Government during the next parliament, according to a coalition of organisations campaigning for long-term improvements to social security for disabled people.  Following the devolution of powers over 

The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) has demanded “urgent action” from local authorities to tackle the shortage in accessible housing and has also joined a campaign to ban winter evictions. A motion calling for improved access to housing for disabled people was passed at t

Social security secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has announced the appointment of Dr Sally Witcher as chair of a new body tasked with scrutinising the Scottish social security system. The Scottish Commission on Social Security will provide independent and expert scrutiny of the Scottish social secu

In a guest blog written for Inclusion Scotland, the Equality and Human Rights Commission highlights a new guide for disabled people living in Scotland looking at social housing, the private rented sector and adaptations (for all tenures). In December 2016, the Equality and Human Rights Commission la

Many of the 50,000 new affordable homes which the Scottish Government has pledged will be delivered by 2021 will be unsuitable for disabled and elderly people, according to the government’s own research. Ministers have committed to invest £3 billion in building at least 50,000 new properties by 2

Over 50 third sector organisations across the UK have backed an amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill legislation calling for an independent review of the impact of Brexit on health and social care systems. The sector is concerned about the impact on staff from the EU, a decline in funding for medical

A group of 24 Scottish charities have come together to urge the UK government to stop the roll-out of the Universal Credit system in Scotland. A major change the benefits system, Universal Credit replaces six existing benefits with one, and is designed to make the benefits process easier. The govern

Disabled people’s organisation Inclusion Scotland has today called for the Scottish Government to seize the opportunity presented by their plan to build 50,000 new homes, by ensuring that they are built to be fully wheelchair accessible, or easily adapted to be so. The group’s new report with In

Horizon Housing Association has been awarded a £92,500 grant for an 18 month research project into the allocation of adapted and accessibly designed social housing. The funding, allocated by the Disability Research into Independent Living and Learning (DRILL) programme as part of a £5 million proj

The United Nations (UN) are to investigate the UK government’s welfare reforms following a complaint that there had “grave and systematic” violations of disabled people’s human rights, it has been reported. Disability charity Inclusion Scotland said that they have been contacted by the UN Co

Calls for new welfare at Holyrood to be used to redress some the “devastating” impacts of benefit sanctions on women will be heard by MSPs today. The Scottish Parliament’s welfare reform committee will be given a series of expert submissions which further evidence the impact of san